Viktor Gyokeres has made his intentions clear to Mikel Arteta after finding his goalscoring touch for Sweden, with the Arsenal striker pushing for more opportunities at club level.
Gyokeres has endured a difficult start to the 2026/27 campaign at Arsenal despite playing an important role in the club’s success last season.
The Sweden international scored 21 goals in 55 appearances during his first campaign in north London after completing a £64 million move from Sporting CP. His contribution came as Arsenal won the Premier League and reached both the Carabao Cup and Champions League finals.
This season, however, the 28-year-old has been restricted to just 29 Premier League minutes and is yet to register a goal or assist in five appearances across all competitions.
Arteta has preferred Kai Havertz, leaving Gyokeres with limited opportunities to establish himself as Arsenal’s first-choice striker.
Gyokeres finds form for Sweden
That situation could change following an encouraging international break.
Gyokeres has scored twice in two matches for Sweden, finding the net against Romania and Poland. Sweden still have fixtures against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Romania to come, giving the striker further opportunities to build momentum before returning to north London.
Havertz, meanwhile, suffered a suspected hamstring injury during Germany’s clash with the Netherlands last week. The extent of that injury could determine whether Gyokeres will get the chance to lead the Arsenal attack when club football resumes.
The forward could consequently be in contention to start against Leeds United on October 10.
‘I want to play football’
Gyokeres has also made his intentions clear regarding his Arsenal future.
With the Gunners heavily linked with Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez during the summer, the striker was asked how close he came to leaving Arsenal. Gyokeres insisted that an exit was never under serious consideration.
“Of course, there was a lot of speculation. But I had a full pre-season, and it felt good. I was fully focused on Arsenal. For me, staying was a given. I’m extremely happy at the club.”
The striker then delivered a straightforward message about what he wants from the coming weeks and months.
“It’s clear that I want to play football and as much as possible. Hopefully that will come, too.”
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Gyokeres acknowledged the competition for places within Arteta’s squad but made no secret of his desire for greater involvement.
“You always want to be on the field as a football player. Of course you expect more playing time, but we have an extremely good squad with a lot of good players and have been doing well here at the start.”
For Arteta, Gyokeres’ international form provides another option in an Arsenal attack where competition for the central striking role remains intense.
The striker’s immediate task is to maintain his momentum for Sweden. If he does, his goals could strengthen his case for a first Premier League start of the season when Arsenal return to domestic action.
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